Google develops software for iPhone

Google has redesigned its homepage to work better on the Apple iPhone

It never released the much-rumoured Google Phone, but now Google has said it is developing software for use in the Apple iPhone.

The software will make it easier to run Google's web applications such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Reader on the Apple iPhone, according to a press statement. There's also a link for one-click access to other services such as Google Docs, Google Maps, Google News, Picasa, and Blogger.

The new technology will make it faster and easier to use Google applications on the Apple iPhone, in the same way as the forthcoming Open Handset Alliance (OHA) handsets will.

Extreme makeover

Google's homepage has also had a makeover in order to make it use the Apple iPhone touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity and Safari web browser better. The updated version is now live for Apple iPhone users who visit the Google.com homepage.

"I started thinking about how to use Ajax technology to improve Google on the Apple iPhone," Steve Kanefsky, a software engineer for Google's mobile team wrote in a blog post.

"I set out to create an application that would preload my favourite Google products and allow me to switch between them instantly. I wanted web results as well as image, local, and news results without having to repeat my search. I wanted to check Gmail and my news feeds in Google Reader without having to load a new page every time. I also wanted Google Suggest to save me time typing queries on the virtual keyboard."